My friend, you are sidestepping a couple important caveats regarding this question. No one ever said you shouldn't hit a drop shot. Hit all you want. Hit them as often as you want. The OP asked the question whether it would be considered inappropriate/rude/wrong (impolitic was his adjective of choice) to be leading an opponent 5-1 and choose that time to practice your drop shot.

Look---you are crushing a clearly outmatched opponent. You haven't been hitting drop shots to get to this point in the match. Now, with your foot on his throat, instead of simply closing out the match, you decide to toy with him for a few minutes before finishing him off. That is exactly how the behavior is perceived regardless of whatever justification you try to mount for it. It looks cheap and unsportsmanlike and amounts to little more than rubbing your opponent's face in it. To pick that moment in the match to start practicing your trick shots can hardly be considered anything but ignorance at best and will probably be interpreted by almost everyone as poor sportsmanship.

Here we are, beating our opponents senseless. We are up 6-0, 5-1 in 45 minutes, and opponents struggle to win points.

Nevertheless, Blake pulls out his bag of tricks. First, he smirks as he hits a drop shot that opponents don't attempt to chase. Embarrassed, I tell him to just finish things out normally, but he blows me off and says he can hit whatever legal shot he wants. He then hits an underhand serve.

I guess I could walk to the net, shake hands and retire. Better that than be a participant in such unsporting behavior.

Recent situation such as yours, where I was ahead 6-3, 5-0 in a fairly I know I'm going to win type of match, serving for match, things just went all to hell. Couldn't get a serve in, and anything I touched wasn't anywhere near the court. Got broken, and I just felt I had to do whatever I had to do to get off the court because I was choking, and was having a total system failure.

So I did exactly what you did. Drop shot'ed all the returns. Bc any swing I took seemed to launch the ball. Got a lucky net cord at match point, but pulled it off for the victory.

So I understand the context of the OP's question, but in my situation, it's possible that my opponent did not pick up I was choking, and may have thought I was being "bushy" with my end match tactics....

But bottom line, I do whatever I have to do to win. If my opponent has a problem with my shots, that's THEIR problem.

Here we are, beating our opponents senseless. We are up 6-0, 5-1 in 45 minutes, and opponents struggle to win points.

Nevertheless, Blake pulls out his bag of tricks. First, he smirks as he hits a drop shot that opponents don't attempt to chase. Embarrassed, I tell him to just finish things out normally, but he blows me off and says he can hit whatever legal shot he wants. He then hits an underhand serve.

I guess I could walk to the net, shake hands and retire. Better that than be a participant in such unsporting behavior.

So when your partner hits a winner, and you are winning, it is your normal practice to tell your partner to quit it and play normally? And you think its good sportmanship to quit a match because you think dropshots and underhand serves are too mean? Truly ridiculous.

Here we are, beating our opponents senseless. We are up 6-0, 5-1 in 45 minutes, and opponents struggle to win points.

Nevertheless, Blake pulls out his bag of tricks. First, he smirks as he hits a drop shot that opponents don't attempt to chase. Embarrassed, I tell him to just finish things out normally, but he blows me off and says he can hit whatever legal shot he wants. He then hits an underhand serve.

I guess I could walk to the net, shake hands and retire. Better that than be a participant in such unsporting behavior.

Fellow practitioner. I understand the gladiatorial nature of practicing law and how you would feel about this. The point I think the others are making is something that I am sure you see in your practice. Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you should.

If you have a slam dunk rear ender case that you are sure you are going to get a directed verdict on liability the first time you ask for it, do you really ask for a default because their answers to your interrogatories were late because your opponent just passed the bar and was on vacation when the time ran? IT really is a pretty close analogy. (No analogy is ever perfect and they all break down when pushed too far)

See the earlier post I made about the progression of "owning" a particular shot. It's a tricky balance, I admit, but this is a sport involving humans.

Golf is a little different. If you are up 15 strokes on the 15th hole and you tee off on a par 4 with your one iron, because you want to work on it, that's OK. (Although, according to Lee Trevino, that would make you greater than God...)

Kind of like Paterno's advice to his athletes about histrionics in the end zone when they scored a touchdown....."Act like you've been there before"

Big lead, good time to experiment with out of the box tactics IMO. No sour grapes at the end by anyone.

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Mmmm, I see what you're saying, but I don't agree.

We've all been in the situation where we are dominating. Yes, you could decide this is the time to work on some stuff.

Is a blow-out the time to work on some stuff? No. Clearly not.

I think the most courteous thing to do in tennis is to continue to play in whatever fashion you played to get your big lead. When you have finished the job, invite your opponents to play a practice set. That is when you pull out your trick shots, your fancy formations, your tweeners, your non-dominant hand play.

This actually has come up in the past. I have had partners suggest that we start doing some signaled poaches and formations when we have a big lead. I say the same thing: "Nah, let's just finish them off and then see if they want to practice."

Seriously what do some people have against drop shots?
It is a perfectly legal and normal shot like any other shot in tennis.

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It isn't about the shot---it's about the timing and the clear perception to 99% of the audience that this particular instance is simply rubbing the other guy's nose in it. Drop shots are fine, and there is nothing wrong with using them. If you wanted to practice your drop shot, you could have tried one in game 1, another in game 3, another in game 5, etc. But to pull the first one out at 6-0, 5-1 looks for all the world like nothing more than showboating and attempting to embarrass and humiliate your opponent. Surely you can see that.

The original question asked if it would be considered inappropriate to hit drop shots to your opponent when leading 5-1. Based on the total number and variety of responses I have read here, I would say the reasonably overwhelming majority say yes, it would be inappropriate and look like you were rubbing it in. That's the answer. If you feel differently, go ahead and do it. The response you get from your opponent will tell you whether or not you made the most judicious choice. And if his response doesn't matter to you, there was no reason to pose the question in the first place.

The original question asked if it would be considered inappropriate to hit drop shots to your opponent when leading 5-1. Based on the total number and variety of responses I have read here, I would say the reasonably overwhelming majority say yes, it would be inappropriate and look like you were rubbing it in. That's the answer. If you feel differently, go ahead and do it. The response you get from your opponent will tell you whether or not you made the most judicious choice. And if his response doesn't matter to you, there was no reason to pose the question in the first place.

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You speak in platitudes and take unwarranted factual liberties. You assume consensus when none exist. I think it's about 50/50.

You fail to comprehend nuance which causes your responses to be off target.

if you are simply posting your own views, ok, cool, whatever,...I like to respond to my own questions as opposed to what's actually asked too but I think you don't realize you are doing this.

Did you not say you were done posting on my threads?

The question I posed was if it is impolitic when ahead to practice certain shots--for me it is a drop shot return. I think some people would be ok with it and others would eschew the practice...just as some would say it's ok to serve hard at or aim at women in mixed doubles....I would never do such a thing because its ungentlemanly. If I lose a tennis match so what, but I am not going to be sending 115mph bombs downrange at some soccer mom.

You speak in platitudes and take unwarranted factual liberties. You assume consensus when none exist. I think it's about 50/50.

You fail to comprehend nuance which causes your responses to be off target.

if you are simply posting your own views, ok, cool, whatever,...I like to respond to my own questions as opposed to what's actually asked too but I think you don't realize you are doing this.

Did you not say you were done posting on my threads?

The question I posed was if it is impolitic when ahead to practice certain shots--for me it is a drop shot return. I think some people would be ok with it and others would eschew the practice...just as some would say it's ok to serve hard at or aim at women in mixed doubles....I would never do such a thing because its ungentlemanly. If I lose a tennis match so what, but I am not going to be sending 115mph bombs downrange at some soccer mom.

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True, I did say I was going to stop posting on your threads.

Somehow, though, reading your posts is like watching a bad horror movie. You know it's garbage, and there is nothing of any redeeming value in it, but something in you can't resist watching it to its bloody, pointless, but very predictable end. It's like you're the "Nightmare on Elm Street---Part VII" of the message board.

Somehow, though, reading your posts is like watching a bad horror movie. You know it's garbage, and there is nothing of any redeeming value in it, but something in you can't resist watching it to its bloody, pointless, but very predictable end. It's like you're the "Nightmare on Elm Street---Part VII" of the message board.

Somehow, though, reading your posts is like watching a bad horror movie. You know it's garbage, and there is nothing of any redeeming value in it, but something in you can't resist watching it to its bloody, pointless, but very predictable end. It's like you're the "Nightmare on Elm Street---Part VII" of the message board.

I just don't see my hitting one or more drop shots as bringing my inner gladiator to a match. If I am losing, I really don't care if my opponent hits a screamer top spin down the line that I cannot get to, or a dropshot I cannot get to. I guess I am just surprised that many on this board see a difference between about getting dropped shotted and losing a point, versus getting a top spin down the line and losing a point--you still lose the point. And if it is more than one point, same thing.

Fellow practitioner. I understand the gladiatorial nature of practicing law and how you would feel about this. The point I think the others are making is something that I am sure you see in your practice. Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you should.

If you have a slam dunk rear ender case that you are sure you are going to get a directed verdict on liability the first time you ask for it, do you really ask for a default because their answers to your interrogatories were late because your opponent just passed the bar and was on vacation when the time ran? IT really is a pretty close analogy. (No analogy is ever perfect and they all break down when pushed too far)

See the earlier post I made about the progression of "owning" a particular shot. It's a tricky balance, I admit, but this is a sport involving humans.

Golf is a little different. If you are up 15 strokes on the 15th hole and you tee off on a par 4 with your one iron, because you want to work on it, that's OK. (Although, according to Lee Trevino, that would make you greater than God...)

Kind of like Paterno's advice to his athletes about histrionics in the end zone when they scored a touchdown....."Act like you've been there before"

I just don't see my hitting one or more drop shots as bringing my inner gladiator to a match. If I am losing, I really don't care if my opponent hits a screamer top spin down the line that I cannot get to, or a dropshot I cannot get to. I guess I am just surprised that many on this board see a difference between about getting dropped shotted and losing a point, versus getting a top spin down the line and losing a point--you still lose the point. And if it is more than one point, same thing.

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For whatever it's worth, I agree with you on that point.

If the guy who is up 5-1 decides to play a shot that is inferior to the shots he has been playing, I'll thank him for giving me a bit more hope at coming back than I deserve.

If he plays a shot at 5-1 that is superior to the shots he has been playing, I'll thank him for not using those shots until that point.

Either way I'm not going to get upset or embarrassed that the guy is beating me with legal shots.

I think any tactic is fair, but not always prudent. If your opponent is tired at the end of a hot day, and ready to hang it up, just continue with the normal shot pattern that you have been winning with all match long. If you start hitting drop shots, I am going to think you are a jerk, and then I might get a little mad. For me, at least, nothing puts energy back into my game like a bit of anger. Before you know it, your opponent is serving for a tiebreak, and you are back on your heels. Finish the match and don't try to be cute.

I think any tactic is fair, but not always prudent. If your opponent is tired at the end of a hot day, and ready to hang it up, just continue with the normal shot pattern that you have been winning with all match long. If you start hitting drop shots, I am going to think you are a jerk, and then I might get a little mad. For me, at least, nothing puts energy back into my game like a bit of anger. Before you know it, your opponent is serving for a tiebreak, and you are back on your heels. Finish the match and don't try to be cute.

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Is it ok to drop shot older men with their wives looking on? I normally try not to do this and prefer to prevail the manly way, but is it bad form or considered disrespectful?

Is it ok to drop shot older men with their wives looking on? I normally try not to do this and prefer to prevail the manly way, but is it bad form or considered disrespectful?

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what are you playing for? a trophy? a league title? a steak dinner? are your teammates surrounding the court giving you the "thumbs-down" signal like a crowd at the coliseum while your captain is making slashing motions across his throat?

personally, I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't want to be responsible for putting the guy on the shelf. apparently i'm not as good as some folks here who need to work on their dropshots because at this point, the dropshot is the last thing I need to work on. furthermore, I don't think it makes much sense to "practice your dropshot" against an opponent such as this because even if it works on this type of opponent, a more mobile or younger player would probably run it down. that's who you should practice the dropshot against imho.

I'm new to Tennis, Tennis Etiquette and Tennis Sportsmanshp. I am having difficulty understanding the almost universal disdain for...

The drop shot

The Pusher... more specifically the the player who lobs or hits soft

Why is it OK for one to move their opponent side to side but not up and down? Isn't the drop shot a "high risk/high reward" shot?

So what if someone hits soft balls and slows the game down? There's no rule against a specific style of play... I find most pushers to be disciplined and methodical in their approach to the game.

There are plenty of practices that bother me more than any particular shot or play in competitive play...

People who catch an errant service toss on their racquet (1st occurrence, I give a warning... 2nd, I remind them that it's a fault)
calling a shot out/long/wide before the ball actually lands.
ungentlemanly ball exchange (I always gather up the balls and hand them to my opponent or hit/toss them softly over)

I'm new to Tennis, Tennis Etiquette and Tennis Sportsmanshp. I am having difficulty understanding the almost universal disdain for...

The drop shot

The Pusher... more specifically the the player who lobs or hits soft

Why is it OK for one to move their opponent side to side but not up and down? Isn't the drop shot a "high risk/high reward" shot?

So what if someone hits soft balls and slows the game down? There's no rule against a specific style of play... I find most pushers to be disciplined and methodical in their approach to the game.

There are plenty of practices that bother me more than any particular shot or play in competitive play...

People who catch an errant service toss on their racquet (1st occurrence, I give a warning... 2nd, I remind them that it's a fault)
calling a shot out/long/wide before the ball actually lands.
ungentlemanly ball exchange (I always gather up the balls and hand them to my opponent or hit/toss them softly over)

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Really. You can't catch the ball if you screw the service toss up? Thanks. I played one guy who did this about six times in a tournament.

I think any tactic is fair, but not always prudent. If your opponent is tired at the end of a hot day, and ready to hang it up, just continue with the normal shot pattern that you have been winning with all match long. If you start hitting drop shots, I am going to think you are a jerk, and then I might get a little mad. For me, at least, nothing puts energy back into my game like a bit of anger. Before you know it, your opponent is serving for a tiebreak, and you are back on your heels. Finish the match and don't try to be cute.

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In this case I don't think there is anything wrong with hitting drop shots. I had this happen to me a few months back in my 3rd match in a tournament. I had huge momentum going into the 3rd set but my legs were completely shot. I started out the set well but after the 3rd drop shot I knew I was lost. I wasn't upset at all, and actually have to give a lot of credit to my opponent for doing it as it wasn't his normal shot.

On the original thread topic though, I had a match last weekend against someone who was much better than I was. It was clear from the first game I had no hope, but my opponent's serve was a bit off so he decided to work on it which probably gave me a few extra games. As much as this hurt my pride, I was happy to get the few extra games so the score was not quite as embarrassing. In this case, he clearly was working on his game. In this case there was an audience so had he been messing with me by hitting drop shots I would have definitely been angry.

"...A player, who tosses the ball and then decides not to hit it, is allowed
to catch the ball with the hand or the racket, or to let the ball bounce..."

Wow my bad... I should go back and apologize to tose folks A pro had explained that this is not allowed. Should have read the rules... Still off topic but I'm not sure if this rule makes any sense... How do I distinguish between a underhand serve and a missed toss that was attempted to be caught with a racquet that lands 3 feet in the court? How does one interpret the rule in the event the ball struck the racquet and was not caught?

Still off topic but I'm not sure if this rule makes any sense... How do I distinguish between a underhand serve and a missed toss that was attempted to be caught with a racquet that lands 3 feet in the court? How does one interpret the rule in the event the ball struck the racquet and was not caught?

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How often do you have to deal with this problem where you are not sure someone misses the ball trying to serve or was just catching a bad toss?

I'd say never, and if it happens give the opponent the benefit of the doubt, problem solved.

The rule makes sense because the serve is a process. I mean you have the ball in your hand, can it touch the racket and if so how many times? Well, how many times do people bounce the ball with the racket? Then how many times can it leave the hand and you can catch it again? Well just count how many people bounce the ball.

If one condition is met it is even allowed to toss the ball with the racket.

I remember seeing both sides of this coin at one of those high school singles tournaments where multiple schools come and all play at one location. The school I am referring to had their #1 and #2 players both state ranked. They were both at such a high level that playing in high school probably wasn't fair to most of their opponents and definitely wasn't fun for them either because they never got a challenge.

On this day, I finished my match and went to see who was playing and they happened to be playing on side by side courts. Being that they were the highest seeds, they were playing some of the much lower seeds. Needsless, to say the match was pretty much over for their opponents before it even started. They both easily won (probably bagels for both) but they did it in completely different ways. The #1 player was all business. He ended points quickly and obviously was trying to finish the match in a way that wasn't embarassing or painful for his opponent.

The #2 player just toyed with his opponent and it was pretty sickening to watch as a spectator. At one point, he got a sitter at the service box and proceeded to hit a slice with so much backspin that it bounced right back over to his side of the net and into his hand (one of those moments that would have been badass if he wasn't being such a jerk). The sad part was his opponent had no idea what would happen when the ball bounced and so he just stared in utter confusion when the ball shot backwards.

In the end each player's personality will dictate what they do in this situation, but I would never want to be toyed with and embarrased, so I try not to do it to other people either.

I remember seeing both sides of this coin at one of those high school singles tournaments where multiple schools come and all play at one location. The school I am referring to had their #1 and #2 players both state ranked. They were both at such a high level that playing in high school probably wasn't fair to most of their opponents and definitely wasn't fun for them either because they never got a challenge.

On this day, I finished my match and went to see who was playing and they happened to be playing on side by side courts. Being that they were the highest seeds, they were playing some of the much lower seeds. Needsless, to say the match was pretty much over for their opponents before it even started. They both easily won (probably bagels for both) but they did it in completely different ways. The #1 player was all business. He ended points quickly and obviously was trying to finish the match in a way that wasn't embarassing or painful for his opponent.

The #2 player just toyed with his opponent and it was pretty sickening to watch as a spectator. At one point, he got a sitter at the service box and proceeded to hit a slice with so much backspin that it bounced right back over to his side of the net and into his hand (one of those moments that would have been badass if he wasn't being such a jerk). The sad part was his opponent had no idea what would happen when the ball bounced and so he just stared in utter confusion when the ball shot backwards.

In the end each player's personality will dictate what they do in this situation, but I would never want to be toyed with and embarrased, so I try not to do it to other people either.

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What's up partner? You still in Vegas?How is the internship going? Did you play in the Green Valley tournament?

Let me know if you want to fire'm up again. I have a guy who you might enjoy playing with....he's a step faster than me, young, and a solid 4.0. Hit me up if you want.

It would certainly make you look like an asshat, but I'm guessing you're probably not really concerned about that.

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Based on his "serve thread," with incredible 110+ mph serve and serve percentage at pro level, the OP needs no advice from mortals here. In fact he should simply prolong the set so his trophy model girlfriend can watch him toy with the opponent so she'll desire him even more.

Based on his "serve thread," with incredible 110+ mph serve and serve percentage at pro level, the OP needs no advice from mortals here. In fact he should simply prolong the set so his trophy model girlfriend can watch him toy with the opponent so she'll desire him even more.

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I learned my lesson re this the hard way;it cost me being undefeated in my level for tournament play.

I was up one set and up 40-love (4-2) and was trying to ace this cat for the V. Well, it was 110 in Vegas that day and I ran out of gas and double faulted the set away! (The problem with my no form guerrilla serve is that it breaks down after about an hour.) When I sat down, my ankle suddenly locked up as I had sprained it in the first set trying to execute a jumping smash....I had a bit of a crowd watching me and wanted to put on a show...I got up to play an entire third set in the 110+ heat at 1 hour 43 minutes and got beat....the dude had been beaten badly by me on two prior occasions--including one breadsticking---and brought out a crowd of 6 or so fans plus his USTA employed woman...He brought his A game and to his credit, did not miss a shot and took the third set 6-4...

That was the last time I toy with an opponent again and not finish him off. The next day the entire club was talking about my loss....he was quite proud of beating me.

My gf, who knows nothing about tennis, told me," that's what you get for messing around. " She was correct.

I learned my lesson re this the hard way;it cost me being undefeated in my level for tournament play.

I was up one set and up 40-love (4-2) and was trying to ace this cat for the V. Well, it was 110 in Vegas that day and I ran out of gas and double faulted the set away! (The problem with my no form guerrilla serve is that it breaks down after about an hour.) When I sat down, my ankle suddenly locked up as I had sprained it in the first set trying to execute a jumping smash....I had a bit of a crowd watching me and wanted to put on a show...I got up to play an entire third set in the 110+ heat at 1 hour 43 minutes and got beat....the dude had been beaten badly by me on two prior occasions--including one breadsticking---and brought out a crowd of 6 or so fans plus his USTA employed woman...He brought his A game and to his credit, did not miss a shot and took the third set 6-4...

That was the last time I toy with an opponent again and not finish him off. The next day the entire club was talking about my loss....he was quite proud of beating me.

My gf, who knows nothing about tennis, told me," that's what you get for messing around. " She was correct.

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Heh, well who needs someone (*ahem*) saying this exact thing earlier in this thread when you can skip all that pesky reading and go learn the lesson first hand!